Phase 1: the Guitar knight
by Haze the Chameleon
Summary: First story remade for the third and final time, I swear. The Chaotix find themselves involved with a weird crime while an OC of mine tries to hunt the same guy down. Both for completely different reasons, motives and methods. Fun and hyjinx are sure to ensue right? Right?
1. Chapter 1

**Let's kick this dog and pony show off right, shall we?**

**Chaotix detective agency belongs to Sega ©**

**Haze the Chameleon and the main setting belong to Haze the Chameleon © **

The few clouds in the sky did not hinder the sunlight's attempt at having a great day. The citizens were bustling and the merchants were doing their best to peddle their wares. The local diner wasn't particularly busy this afternoon, as the only patrons were a pair of cats, one white the other violet sharing a meal of potatoes and fish nuggets at a booth. As well as a smoky grey chameleon sitting at a booth alone, drinking from a bottle of cola and eating what remained of a mystery meat sandwich. The aforementioned chameleon wore a white suit and pants ensemble, with a black undershirt and a white tie. He was often told that the era of disco had called, and they wanted their clothing back, but the chameleon was completely indifferent about the opinion of the other citizens. They all thought he was weird, but he simply marched to the beat of a different drummer. Another thing that made the townsfolk question the chameleon's sanity was the fact that he carried a weapon with him everywhere he went, which wasn't something unusual, as many people in the town held firearms in their homes for safety reasons. However, the chameleon did not wield a firearm or any sort, instead, he chose to carry a blade, a foot and a half long sword tied to his belt loop to be exact. The cold blooded being raised a hand in the air, a sign that he was finished with his meal and he was ready to pay, to which a waitress responded to momentarily. A quick jiffy later, he was outside, straightening his tie and swatting at his sleeves to loosen any crumbs.

"I guess I should head home. I don't really have anything else planned for the day." He thought, approaching the bike racks outside of the diner and reaching into his pockets for the keys to the lock of his particular bicycle.

The chameleon boy's bike, a black and pink striped bicycle was not something he was ashamed of, as he believed it helped set his mode of transportation apart from everyone else's, which is pretty useful in a place as big as West City. A town known for its seaside port and downtown market district, it was a lovely location to find a home. As the chameleon boy rode through the market district, he passed by bakeries, butchers, fruit stands and a fair collection of stores selling other fine products. A few senior citizens even took time out of their day to holler at him, with phrases such as 'wear a helmet', and 'how'd you find my prom suit'. The chameleon did not heed to these words, as he continued to cycle through at a quick pace. As he approached the port, he took a hard turn left, and redirected himself to an area adjacent to the port's busy harbor. While flowing through traffic, with the simplest of ease mind you, the young man approached a series of houses built over the beachside, each one as large and luxurious as the last. However, none of these were the destination of choice for the grey chameleon, as he past the homes with gusto, and continued down the fancy street. About 10 minutes had past, before the houses, harbor and city were nearly out of sight, the sight of large houses replaced with large oak trees, and a solitary single story home built far from the municipality, to ensure maximum privacy and freedom. The boy rode up to the door, before stopping and checking his mail box for mail, as he did everyday before leaving and every night upon return. A smile spread over his muzzle as he felt a large envelope, quickly withdrawing it and opening it slowly with great satisfaction.

"Haven't had any new jobs in weeks, this is bound to give me some excitement, and giver me something to do for the rest of the day." He thought, removing the papers within and examining them.

The papers held a photo of a white hedgehog whose bangs covered half of his face, sporting a business suit and shades, apparently a fan of driving under the influence, as he skipped bail and placed a hefty bounty on his head. His name was Mando Coleridge and he failed to appear in court, meaning that the chameleon boy, Haze the Chameleon was set to capture him and bring him to the prison house for a payment that made the chameleon lick his lips. Of course this meant returning to the city, which made Haze sigh as he picked up his bike and returned to West City. In the mean time, an elderly human couple was trying to solve a problem of their own, involving a certain white hedgehog in a business suit, who caused them quite a bit of a quandary. As it turned out, they were the owners of a jewelry store, and were met with an unwanted and inebriated individual who would cause them nothing but grief. They went into detail, while a larger green reptile read out of a document filled with pictures and files.

"This brute, this ruffian robbed us of a precious piece of property, a suit of armor made to look as if it were golden." The wife spoke, caressing her crying husband. "It wasn't even really gold, it was just painted like that, and we use it in our commercials."

"I've seen those commercials; they're the highlight of my days, aside from the actual television program." The crocodile said, his hands interlaced behind his head with both feet on his desk. The reptile spoke of a commercial wherein a golden knight would often be bested by various middle class citizens in finding fine jewelry at an affordable price. The commercials would often lead to comedic consequences for the loser. "Have you contacted the police yet?"

"Oh my, no. We've heard that the Chaotix detective agency was the best detectives around and we really don't want to bother with all of the trouble and questioning the police bring with them. We'd rather just skip to the chase, while we're still young." The wife continued, still embracing her sobbing husband.

The Chaotix detective agency's head was liking where this case would go, jewelry stores made mad cash, and an elderly couple would happily pay hefty sums for their property to be returned. With a nod of the head and the shake of a hand, the clients entered their car and drove away, back to their home, whilst the crocodile spun around in glee on his swivel chair. He stood up and shut the document, standing from his desk and making his way into the room on the second level, and without knocking, pushed the door open and threw the document onto the lap of a seated chameleon, who remained undeterred.

"Espio, we've got a case on our hands, I'll get Charmy while you get yourself up to speed. We leave in ten minutes." Vector said, slamming the door shut.

With a clap of the hands and a long sigh, Espio the chameleon picked up the document and began reading the notes his boss had written down. "Was this worth interrupting my meditation? I didn't think it was, but Vector thinks with his wallet." He thought, chuckling at little joke, but stopping when he realized that it wasn't funny.

The head detective opened the bee's room, seeing him in a sitting position in the middle of his room. Vector watched as Charmy slowly, but surely completed a somersault. His face lit up as he spotted his friend.

"Did you see that? Did you see it?" Charmy asked, bubbling with merriment. "I was cool, wasn't I."

"Yes yes, you're a dictionary definition of cool. Now, let's go, we have work to do." Vector responded, as the bee stood up and saluted as a retort of his own.

Moments later, the trio exited the agency, on the way to West city to apprehend the culprit and get paid. Vector couldn't help but giggle at how simple the job seemed, surely nobody would find use in a tacky medieval safeguard.

"Surely this 'Mando' guy would be more than happy to let us take it. Who uses armor anyways? We don't need it, this is the future." The croc rambled, flailing his arms about as he spoke.

"Well, the documents you had said he was intoxicated, so maybe he mistook that for a statue made of gold.' Espio replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"What's intokoxicated mean? Does it mean stupid?" Charmy interjected, his childlike naiveté getting the better of his professionalism.

"In a way yes. I'll tell you more about it when you're thirty, but for now, we need to find the suit and return it with little to no confrontation, like real detectives." Vector continued, putting a balled up fist to his chest while looking up, the image of pride.

**The end of the first chapter, tune in for more later**


	2. Chapter 2

**This took more time than I am willing to admit and I apologize for that**

**Chaotix belong to Sega Sonic Team (c) **

**Everyone else is my own possesion- Haze the Chameleon (c) **

The detective trio stood across the street to a two storey beachside home, a red sports car parked in the driveway. Vector recalled the document mentioning a red sports car, and instantly knew that this was the right place. The home was currently occupied by a large number of humans and mobians alike, along with loud music heard clearly from a distance outside the home. As if there were a party being held. The crocodile made a few obscure hand gestures to his companions, leading Charmy the Bee to put on a serious face and nod, but forced Espio the Chameleon to speak up.

"What are you doing?" The chameleon asked his crocodilian boss, doing his best to mimic those very hand movements. "Why all this? What's all this about?"

"Is it a crime to try to add some secrecy and excitement to our little outing?" Vector responded with another question.

Espio gave his rebuttal by simplty crossing his arms and giving his boss a disaproving face, one that unwillingly made Vector apologize and try again to elaborate his plan on catching the thief and the armor.

"I'll go in through the door, I'm about the same age as these rambuctious whippersnappers so I should blend in pretty easily. Espio, you and Charmy will break in through seperate windows upstairs and search the house for the suit of armor. We'll meet up out here in a half hour, if you find the suit of armor, leave it, and tell me where it is. It might be too heavy for you to carry out without making a noise." he explained, pointing to his allies.

"What if we get caught? What's out alibi?" the bee interjected, his voice taking a nervous tone.

"It's a house full of partying people, I doubt anyone will even care about you flying around." Vector answered, lifting the nervousness from the bee's face. "But in the case that you do get caught, just act like you're a realy short grown up, they won't care. And As for you Espio, same story."

Charmy liked this plan, it would allow him to show off his inner 'sassy grown up', without being reprimanded or punished. He pulled his flight goggles over his eyes and crossed his arms, a frown spread over his face. As for Espio, he kept his arms crossed, as the two walked around the house, searching for a window to use as a nentrance. As for Vector, he checked his headphones and his gold chain, before swaggering into the home's large living room, filled with various creatures of various size and colors, blasting loud dance music form a set of speak, sure to be the cause of many police calls in the near future. The croc picked up a red cup by the door, filled with a dark yellow liquid and quickly established his sense of belonging by high fiving a human holding a similar cup.

Outside, a reptilian cycler arrived at the end of the home's driveway, straightening his tie and hopping off his bike. Reaching into his white jacket, he withdrew a large envelope, carefully examining them. The address on one of the documents matched the one on the house a few yards before the chameleon. He folded the papers and placed them in a pocket inside his white jacket, before walking towards the house, his bike carelessly dropped on the front lawn. Once at the front door, Haze too a deep breath, before walking in and immediatly being met with laughs and insults.

"Discotech is down the street, dweeb." shouted one of the party goers.

"The 80's called, they don't want their outfit back." spouted another, both outbursts leading to a parade of laughter.

Haze ignored these insults and made his way through the party-goers, turning down a red cup of liquids, and remaining focused on who he was looking for. Venturing away from the speakers, he approached an evergreen gecko conversating with a white mouse, both sporting black t-shirts and shorts with the word 'League' written in white as if it were spray painted on. Haze tried asking if they knew a hedgehog by the name of Mando Coleridge, but the loud music lead his words to fall on deaf ears. Haze repeated the question, only louder this time, and this attempt would lead him to some answers.

"Upstairs, behind the last door on the left. He wanted to show some floosy something he picked up the other day." The mouse answered, pointing to a staircase previously overlooked by the chameleon.

"It must be pretty great if he chooses to show some skirt thus thing over partying like a rock star." The gecko added, raising a hand with the pinkie and index finger extended.

He thanked the two, and under his breath mocked their manner of speaking, then made for the staircase, gripping the handrail and slowly ascending, unaware of whatever Mando was showing his guest. It may have been a gun or a machete, although it was just as possible that he had a collection of fancy hats and neckties. Either way, Haze did not want to take a chance, he slowly ascended the staircase, trying his best to drown out the absurdly loud music below.

Atop the stairs, the two younger detectives were prepared to search the rooms on the second floor's narrow corridor, hoping to find a clue of some kind to where the large prop could be found. Their search needn't take long, for the short number of rooms lead Charmy and Espio to find precisely what they were looking for. Behind the door at the end of the hall, Charmy and Espio found a bathroom that seemed to be too large to fit in the house they currently occupied. With a single window spreading from wall to wall, mere inches above three seperate sinks, each surrounded by an ensemble of toiletries, ranging from hair products to shaving cream. At the center of the large bathroom was an ordinary looking bathtub, seeming well out of place. More out of place however, was a suit of armor, standing before the mirror, strumming a guitar. Espio concluded that this was the thief Mando Coleridge, the thief the Chaotix was set after in search of the armor. However that may have been innacurate, as the being wearing the golden suit of armor had their face covered by the painted helmet. The armored one stopped his strumming when he spotted two unfamiliar images in his mirror, reflections of strangers standing at the door. Lifting the helmet's visor, white fur and emerald eyes peeked out.

"Who are you? Get the hell out of my house!" Mando Coleridge shouted, his voice sounding strange as it left echos in the helmet.

"We're detectives, and you stole that suit of armor. We're here to take it back, and take you to the proper authorities. Now you can hand it over, bit by bit, or we can take you away ourselves." Espio started, approaching the hedgehog as Charmy entered the room, shutting the door behind him. "Any other questions?"

Haze reached the top of the stairs, and looked down the hall. According to the directions he had recieved, the target should be behind the last door on the left. Approaching the door slowly, with one hand on his sword, his heartbeat increasing and his mind imagining the the worst possible case scenario. With one final gulp, theoddly dressed chameleon kicked the door open, to find, not a hedgehog in a business suit, but a female cyan weasel of some sort, sitting on the large bed in the middle of the room, sporting the same ensemble as the gecko and mouse downstairs. She seemed afraid when Haze kicked the door open, but her fear soon turned to laughter.

"What is so funny? Nevermind, I don't care, where's Mando Coleridge? Is he here?" Haze asked, hardly giving the weasel time to respond.

"Yeah, he left the room for a moment. He wanted to show me this cool set of armor he picked up from a friend." She started between her fits of laughter. "Maybe he could give you some fashion tips. Honestly, where did you dig up that ridiculous get-up? A museum?"

"Oh, like you're so original. I've seen quite a number of animals downstairs wearing the exact same thing you are." Haze said, fiddling with his tie. "You could use a touch of class in your wardrobe madam."

"Uh, first of all, this outfit is the latest from the 'League' clothing line. One of Mando's 'rents runs it, whole the other is a musician. He's mad rich, and I'm hoping to have him as my sugar-daddy." The weasel went on, interlacing her fingers and placing them under her chin.

Haze placed a hand to his forehead, the way kids these days spoke was a real train wreck, their plans weren't such winners either. Nevertheless, he knew that his target was in the house, and that only meant that he was getting close to completing his job and getting paid. Looking around the room, he noticed quite a few guitars, all with the word 'league' written in one way or another. One had he word etched in the wood, while another had it drawn with a marker. The chameleon shook his head, looking out to a spot wherein one guitar was missing and left the room, shutting the door as to not hear the weasel speak anymore.

**Okay, I promise the next chapter will be out far sooner than last time.**

**Until then, I bid thee adieu**


	3. Chapter 3

**New Laptop = less wait time for next chapter**

**Chaotix - Sega Sonic Team © **

**The rest = Haze the Chameleon ©**

Espio and Charmy approached Mando Coleridge, now holding his guitar by the neck, as if it were a battle axe. He was determined to get away, and these wannabe cops were not about to take him away. Charmy cracked his knuckles and held up his little balled up fists, Espio gave him a look, but almost immediately turned his attention back to the culprit, displaying his focus on the task at hand..

"Alright, look, let's strike a deal. I am willing to pay you double what you're currently being paid, if you leave my house and never speak of this day to anyone." The guilty hedgehog bargained, lowering his guitar slightly.

"Listen, we don't do this for the money," Espio said, immediately placing a hand over his bee partner's mouth, aware that the next words to leave the child's mouth were to have been question regarding whether or not that statement was correct. "We do this because we are needed, our skills as detectives have earned us a certain credibility and that is something we cannot just tarnish. We are the Chaotix detective agency, not a bunch of bloodhounds for hire."

"Now listen," the teen's tone now changed to a calmer tone "I know you think you can escape, but you cannot. That armor will weigh you down, no matter how far you run. It would be wiser if you simply surrendered, and returned the armor." Espio calmly explained, taking another step towards Mando. "It would be safer, and wise if you would just surrender."

Mando stared Espio dead in the eyes, before looking down at his own feet. He was caught, and this little triceratops looking guy was right; was it worth it? Was this ridiculous armor worth getting arrested over? He stood face to face with Espio, standing but an inch over the fuchsia chameleon's head, and the chameleon was able to see Mando's eyes look downwards, a telltale sign of submission.

"Alright, I surrender. Could we just go to my bedroom for just a moment? I've hidden the rest of the armor in there. Once I get the rest of it, I'll give it to you guys and follow you to the police station." The hedgehog said, lifting the helmet off of his head and handing it over to the youngest of the three, being Charmy.

"Excellent," Espio started, clapping his hands once, "in which case, Charmy, go downstairs and tell Vector that he's cooperating. I'll escort our new friend to his room. We'll meet you both outside in 15 minutes."

This was going well, something that left Espio in a state of unease. Why wasn't the suspect trying anything? Aside from his unpersuasive pleas mere moments ago, it didn't really seem like he was going to prison, rather he was going to a wedding held by people he barely knew and didn't care for. He decided to stay with the hedgehog in case he'd try anything, it would be far easier to incapacitate him without that helmet. Espio opened the door and allowed the bee to leave, waiting for him to leave their line of sight before escorting Mando the door on the right. Opening the door, Espio was surprised to see the cyan weasel sitting on the bed, just as shocked as she was to see him, however she calmed down when she spotted Mando,

"Excuse her, she's my number one girl. Could we have a moment to say goodbye before you… whisk me away?" he asked, hugging his companion, as she returned the favor. "May we have a moment, please?"

Espio looked around the room. "No you may not. That bedroom window of yours could lead to an escape. And your car is directly outside. No, I think I'll stay right here." The chameleon bluntly replied, all sense of warmness completely drained from his voice.

Mando glared at Espio for a moment, before turning to his weasel companion. Espio could tell at this angle that the movement of his chin showed that he was saying something, just out of earshot. A moment later, the weasel nodded, before being shoved directly into the chameleon's path. Espio was attentive and prepared, this lead to him easily being able to catch the damsel and put her aside, just in time to catch the culprit raising his guitar, no doubt in an attempt to attack. The ninja was quick enough to draw a kunai knife, and point it in Mando's direction, a successful attempt to catch him off guard. Espio's look was one that showed no mercy, and the rich hedgehog realized that. He raised his left hand into the air, his right hand still clutching the guitar. Taking a step forward, Espio felt his arm being jerked back, looking back, it was the weasel woman who had gripped the detective's wrist, with no intent of letting go anytime soon. Taking his eyes off Mando was the fuchsia reptile's biggest mistake, as before he could turn his attention back to the criminal, he was met with a guitar smashing over his head. Weakened and dazed, Espio fell to his knee, losing grip of his knife. Through his blurred vision, he manages to see Mando grab yet another guitar from his wall and raise it overhead; and while the ninja did raise his arms in defence, this action rewarded him with a swift kick to the abdomen, courtesy of Mando's cohort. Lowering his hands to favor his torso, Espio was nailed, once again, with a heavy guitar smashing over his head. At this point, he fell to the ground, barely conscious, but somewhat aware of what was going on in the room. From his angle, he could see pieces of bright metals hitting the ground, and 2 pairs of feet running out of the room. Shamefully, Espio began replaying the events that had just occurred in his head, what possible ways were there to have defended himself? What could he have done to stop the guitars? Questions he wouldn't be able to answer, as he had more important things to do at the moment, such as recapturing Mando Coleridge.

Haze walked down the stairs and made for the door, momentarily bumping into some short guy carrying something too quick to identify. Unfortunately, Haze himself was not quick enough to avoid a few insults directed at his suit and consequently, the chameleon himself. A few derogatory terms and off color jokes lead Haze to put on a sour look on his face, but he wouldn't shout or yell, he needed to remain calms. Sticks and stones, he thought, sticks and stones. He was at the threshold when applause suddenly filled the room, attracting the bounty hunter's attention, as he looked back into the home to see a cyan weasel and white hedgehog make their way down the stairs, a smile spreading onto Haze's face as he recognized the bloke on the stairs from the picture on the document he had received beforehand. Fingering his sheath, Haze was calculating a way to get through the mob o' men, when he noticed something about his target, his torso and arms were covered in something shiny. Armor, was it? Was Mando prepared for Haze to come after him? He overheard the objective talk about how a jerk had broken in and was prepared to throw him in prison for no apparent reason. This garnered quite a negative response from the group, silenced as the hedgehog pointed to someone near the exit, beside a large green crocodile. Haze took a few steps back into the house to see that he one on the other end of that accusing finger was a short creature, some kind of insect holding a helmet in his hands, one that had a similar color to the one Mando was wearing. His next sentence, Haze heard clearly enough.

"That short guy there, he stole that helmet from me. Come on you guys, help me stick it to the man and let's get that helmet!" He shouted, cheers and nasty looks to the short bee followed presently. The bee's eyes began to form tears, when the crocodile took a step in front of him.

"Hey, come on, leave him alone. He looks like he's just a kid." The croc said, carefully picking out his words.

"Do you know this bee? Are in on his little coalition?" Mando asked, followed by a few 'yeah's from the metaphorical flock of sheep.

"Oh, uh… no, no I have no idea who this kid is. Come on, let's just let him go, I know not a one of you would dare to harm a child." Responded the croc, his voice filling with passion as he began to point his index finger around. The mob had to agree, assaulting a child would be petty and kind of a dick move, one that nobody was willing to make for the sake of taking some helmet.

"Thanks for the save there, Vector. I'm glad you're always looking out for me." Charmy blurted out, garnering an angry look from Vector. Vector himself was the target of many other looks, angry looks, vicious looks, looks of absolute disgust.

"We won't beat up the child then. Hey guys, how about we take on meathead number 2 and show them why they don't mess with us. I took care of meathead number 3 with a little help from my girl, Gwenneth over here." Mando's speech interrupted by his weasel ally, Gwenneth, blowing a kiss to the mass, with applaud and wolf whistles. "So let's handle these two puppets of the man and get back that helmet they took from me, huh?"

Cracking knuckles filled the room, as Charmy and Vector were forced into a corner, through Mando's vague explanation, they concluded that Espio was incapacitated and unable to help. Charmy stood behind Vector, as the Crocodile began stretching his shoulders in anticipation. Haze seeing the group's focus solely on the two interlopers, took this as a chance to charge his target, and maybe even capture him without the crowd being any the wiser. He began slipping through the mindless puppets, slowly making his way towards Mando, and a cool payment when he brings him in. Charmy and Vector were moments away from being pounced, as the bee began to hope for someone to save them. Little did he know, his large ally wasn't holding out on a saviour making a surprise appearance, but rather his own power and skill. Vector inhaled deeply, as the mass leaped forward to attack.

**New laptop still = Less wait time for chapters, so tune in**


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